


Don't Let The Bed Bugs Bite

by mood



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Established Relationship, I think this is fluff, M/M, scarecrow is really protective
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-13 14:45:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13572771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mood/pseuds/mood
Summary: Scarecrow is given the opportunity to decide whether or not Edward is a threat to Jonathan.





	Don't Let The Bed Bugs Bite

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing for this ship, I hope it turned out alright?

Jonathan Crane was tired. Anyone could see that, the tall man was fighting to stay awake while sat at his desk, the only signs of life were when his spindly fingers pressed themselves to his eyes or ran through his mousy hair. The man's body was perpetually gaunt, his skin always pale, and dark circles seemed to have taken residence beneath his eyes a long time ago, and yet, somehow, tonight he looked worse than usual.    
  


He began murmuring to himself. To an outsider, it would appear that he was carrying out a one-sided conversation, but this was primarily due to the second speaker residing within the man's mind. Such conversations rarely left the confines of Jonathan's mind but tonight he was too tired to care and so he voiced his thoughts.   
  


_ You can go to sleep Jonny boy. I'll take over. _

  
"No."

  
_ You need rest. Just let me be in charge for a few hours while you sleep. _

  
"We will still be tired afterwards. Even more so. We do share a body you know? My mind would be able to rest but our body would not."

  
_ We need to finish the toxin. Let me take over. _

  
"No."

  
_ Please Jonny, I’m bored. Let me play. You can rest and once you're back you can have control and put us in bed. _

  
"Am I given that task because you don't know how to lie down?" Jonathan mused.

  
_ Shut up. _

  
"I will take that as a yes. But I am not convinced."

  
_ I won't leave the house and no one will see me. _

  
"Four hours. If you do anything wrong I am taking it back."

  
_ Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite. _ __  
  
Jonathan took off his glasses and let out a deep sigh before releasing all control on his mind. A moment later, the man stiffened in his chair as Scarecrow took over, the alter personality still unfamiliar with normal movement. A wide, albeit unnerving, smile broke out on his face as he stretched his arms out.  __ Time for play!  Scarecrow thought as his eyes settled on various test tubes filled with an amber coloured liquid.

 

Two hours passed with minimal cause for concern. At least minimal cause for Jonathan to be concerned, the rest of Gotham would definitely be concerned if they knew that Scarecrow was advancing with his latest toxin. And advancing he was. Jonathan was able to create the toxins but it was Scarecrow who used them. His shaking hands scrawled messy notes on the best places to release the toxin, and he imagined various dispersal methods for each location. The work he had done was important but Scarecrow knew he could do so much more, if only he had a test subject. Regrettably, Scarecrow could not procure one tonight for he knew Jonny boy wouldn’t let him be in control again for a long time once he found out Scarecrow had left the house despite his promise. No, there was not much he could do at the moment but wait for the next time he was in control.

 

A loud knocking at the front door brought the man out of his reverie.  _ Knock knock. Who’s there? A test subject? _ A mischievous grin spread across Scarecrow’s face at the convenient interruption.

He grabbed a syringe of the updated toxin and silently walked up the stairs. Moving to a wall in the unkempt living room, he peeked at the space between the wooden boards covering the window. When Jonathan had secured the boards he intentionally left the space so that the front door was clearly visible through it, allowing for him to see anyone who came by. Not that many people did stop by. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, Scarecrow softly hummed a nursery rhyme:

 

_ “Girls and boys come out to play _

_ The moon doth shine as bright as day _

_ Leave your supper, and leave your sleep _

_ And join your playfellows in the street.” _

 

Soon he was able to see the figure at his door and he held his breath once he realized who it was. The man did not instill fear in Scarecrow, no man did, but he knew that any interaction could be dangerous if he wanted to continue to have control. This was not an interaction that he should be in control for.

 

_ Jonny _ . Scarecrow hissed. There was no response.

 

_ Jonny boy.  _ He tried again. Jonathan was silent, likely sleeping. The doorknob clicked and Scarecrow heard the man enter the house. 

 

“Jonathan?” 

 

Scarecrow had met him before. Although Jonathan was more acquainted with him as Edward Nygma, Scarecrow had met The Riddler on various occasions. He knew that Edward and The Riddler weren’t as separate as Jonathan and himself, but Scarecrow had only met the rogue while on heists. Even during such times his thoughts were not focused on getting to know the man, and so he had never been in control for such a domestic meeting. He knew Jonathan would be angry but the sleeping man had no power to stop Scarecrow from meeting Edward.

 

He was thrilled to meet Eddie, he was curious to see first hand why Jonny cared so much for the redhead, but he also wanted to know if the man could potentially hurt Jonny. Scarecrow promised Jonny that he would protect him and he didn't know if Edward was a good thing. When testing toxins, Jonathan occasionally saw Edward. Sometimes it was Edward leaving him, other times it was Edward staying with him. Scarecrow didn't know if it was better to see the hallucination of the redhead walking out on Jonathan, or the hallucination of the man staying and revealing it had all been a trick. Personally, Scarecrow preferred the hallucinations involving crows, at least he knew how to deal with those. In any case, this appeared to be the perfect chance to meet Edward.

 

Stepping out from the shadows and into the light by the front door, he spoke,  _ “Hello darling, what brings you by?”  _

 

“I haven’t heard from you in a few days and I know you’ve been working on your toxin so I figured you probably haven't been sleeping. Or eating. Or doing anything but working. Anyways, I brought you some soup. And I picked up a coffee for you.”

 

“ _ How sweet. How wonderfully kind of you. Thank you Eddie _ .”

 

“I was also thinking that we…” he trailed off, sounding confused, “E-Eddie? Is… Scarecrow?” 

 

“ _ Jonny boy was tired. The good doctor is out _ .”

 

Scarecrow stared intently at the other man. With his realization of who his current companion was, Eddie's face had flushed and his eyes widened. He seemed to be at a loss for words and his hands began shaking in an almost imperceptible manner. So easy to scare, so pliant. Edward, despite having played with Scarecrow on the streets of Gotham without harm, was visibly anxious in being near him. So beautiful. So vulnerable. Scarecrow voiced his observations via a nursery rhyme:

 

“ _ Chubby cheeks, dimple chin _

_ Rosy lips, teeth within _

_ Curly hair, very fair _

_ Eyes are _ ” Scarecrow faltered for a moment,  __ “green, _ lovely too. _

_ Teachers pet, is that you? _

_ Yes, Yes, Yes _ !”

 

Once he finished reciting the words, Scarecrow studied Edwards response. The rhyme had fit him nearly perfectly and the young man was blushing heavily. This was not as appealing as the anxious look had been but it was enough for Scarecrow to begin to understand Jonathan's physical attraction to the man.

 

“I-uh… Coffee?” Edwards cheeks grew warm and his voice was meek as he held up a cup as if to punctuate the question.

 

Scarecrow eyed the cup suspiciously before taking it and downing the contents. He wasn’t convinced the coffee wasn’t tainted but he had built up enough of an immunity to various poisons that he deemed the safe. Drinking the liquid left his throat warm and he smiled. Eddie knew Jonny liked coffee and so Eddie brought him coffee. How considerate.

 

_ “Thank you, Eddie.” _

 

“Are you hungry? I can heat up the soup now if you want to eat?” 

 

_ “Jonny can eat later. I am not hungry.” _

 

“I know it's counterintuitive because I just gave you coffee which is obviously a caffeinated beverage but I know that you, well I don’t know if  _ you _ do, but Jonathan drinks coffee like its water so it doesn’t affect him much. But if you’re not hungry then maybe you should get some sleep because it’s late and you look tired and I doubt you’ve slept since the last time I was here and -”

 

_ “I need Jonny boy to wake up to put us to bed.” _

 

“Why?”

 

Scarecrow just stared at Edward in response.

 

“I can put you to bed. If you want, that is.” 

 

Scarecrow nodded slightly and the redhead put the soup container down on a nearby table. He then grabbed Scarecrow’s arm, silently leading him to Jonathan’s bed. Once there, Edward gently pushed on his shoulder, forcing the taller man to move onto the bed before he crawled into bed too. Once beside him, Edward had Scarecrow lie down and pulled the blanket over the man. Scarecrow silently watched and took notice when Eddie’s hands stopped shaking. Interesting. It seemed that Eddie was too busy with taking care of him to continue to be afraid. Normally, the lack of fear would be disappointing to Scarecrow, but when such gentle actions were being given to Jonny, Scarecrow didn’t mind. 

 

Edward appeared to hesitate for a moment before moving under the blanket and, likely out of habit, the redhead cuddled up to the taller man, resting his head on the other’s chest. Scarecrow tensed at the contact but if Eddie noticed, he didn’t say anything. The two remained in silence for a while before Scarecrow realized Edward had fallen asleep. How odd. To fall asleep so comfortably on the God of Fear. Not that Scarecrow minded, the redhead was providing a considerable amount of heat that he found he welcomed. Overall, Scarecrow decided that was what Eddie was: welcomed. In a small span of time, the man had brought him food and coffee, worried about his wellbeing, and had helped him to bed. Not once had Edward displayed any malevolent intent. He appeared to care for Jonny boy. 

 

And yet… Eddie was so vulnerable, so nervous, so frail. The Riddler could handle the harsh realities of the world, but could Edward? Could Edward rely on The Riddler to protect him?

 

Silently, as he gently ran his fingers through Eddie’s auburn hair, Scarecrow promised to do all he could to protect Eddie. As long as Eddie was good for Jonny, Scarecrow would keep him safe. Satisfied with the decision, he whispered his vow to the darkness of the room, and promptly fell asleep.

 


End file.
